


Drabble Collection

by christinchen



Category: Eureka (TV)
Genre: Blind Date, Canonical Character Death, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Humor, M/M, Science Experiments, Secret Relationship, Step-parents, experiments gone wrong
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-19
Updated: 2021-03-19
Packaged: 2021-03-28 10:54:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 2,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30138486
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/christinchen/pseuds/christinchen
Summary: 16 short drabbles written for various prompts
Relationships: Jack Carter/Nathan Stark
Kudos: 9





	1. Breakfast in Bed

Of all the ways Jack had ever envisioned getting caught with Nathan, this was not one of them. Of all the ways he had envisioned his daughter reacting to catching him in bed with Nathan, this was definitely not one of them. 

As it was, she carefully set the tray with breakfast down on top the covers, turned and walked back out his bedroom door, throwing a “I’ll better get another plate and some more coffee then. And you’d better be _dressed_ when I come back” over her shoulder. 

Jack decided she was definitely right on the getting dressed part, he could always freak out later. So he reached across his lover for his discarded pyjama pants, throwing Nathan his boxers and t-shirt. “Clothes,” he told him, hoping to somehow startle him out of his shock and into moving. 

It seemed to work as Nathan blinked at him slowly and then rushed to put on his clothes.   
“Ahh, I’m pretty sure I meant to leave earlier,” he sighed. “S.A.R.A.H., why didn’t you wake me like I asked you to?” he directed an accusing glance towards the ceiling. 

“I did, Dr. Stark,” the A.I. answered. “You told me to, I quote: Go away.”

“Stop laughing, Jack,” Nathan groused. “What’s with this anyway?” he asked, indicating to the plates of breakfast sitting at the foot of the bed. 

“Breakfast in bed?” Jack grinned. “One of the teachers in Zoe’s primary school thought it would be cute to get the kids to bring their parents breakfast in bed on Valentine’s Day. It somehow stuck as a tradition.” 

“And yet this is the first time _this_ has happened,” Zoe told him, walking back in with another plate of pancakes and a mug of coffee in her hands. She settled onto the bed across from them, pushing the tray towards them. 

“So,” she started, digging into her own food. “Are you finally done sneaking out at five in the morning then?”


	2. Lovesong

He was humming. Jack watched with a somewhat odd feeling spreading through his chest. Nathan Stark was standing in his kitchen, wearing Jack’s stolen sweatpants, which were several inches too short and definitely too tight around the butt and he was humming. He was chopping vegetables to make dinner, which S.A.R.A.H. was not happy about. And humming. 

Jack decided that it was the humming that was giving him the odd feeling in his chest, like he couldn't breathe, like his heart was about to stop or explode. Oh, crap. He was having a heart attack, wasn't he? Shit! 

“Hey, Nathan,” he called out. 

“What's wrong?” Nathan was suddenly right in front of him, looking at him with a worried glaze. 

_Oh shit!_ Jack though. This wasn’t a heart attack at all. There was an unmistakable flutter in his belly, the tightness in his chest eased into a familiar softness as Nathan’s hand ran across his face. 

“I’m in love with you,” Jack said, sounding completely stunned even to his own ears. 

Nathan laughed, loud and happy. The kind of laugh no one got to hear at GD or in town, the kind of laugh that was just for when he was alone with Jack and… “I’m completely and utterly in love with you.”

Arms wrapped themselves tightly around his middle, a gentle, lingering kiss was pressed to his lips.   
“I love you too, you complete moron.”


	3. Giggle

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning for canon character death mention and grief in this chapter

Jack doesn’t remember a lot of firsts with Zoe. He missed them. He missed them because of his job, because he simply wasn’t around to see them. He can’t remember his daughter’s first steps, her first words or her first laugh.

With Jenna he vows to do things differently. The first time he tickles her feet and she makes the most beautiful sound of a delighted giggle, he drinks the moment in, commits it to his memory in every single facet. 

And later he recounts it, as detailed as he can manage. Sitting on the cold, dirty ground of Eureka’s graveyard, he tells Nathan Stark all about his daughter's first laugh, because no father should miss that.


	4. Blind Date

He tells himself that he isn’t _really_ desperate enough to go to Vincent’s ‘Blind Date Night’, he’s just showing support, to Vincent, to the town, to… oh yeah, he’s totally desperate enough to try and let Vincent of all people try and set him up on a blind date. Jack curses as he changes his outfit for the third time in as many minutes. 

“Oh for fuck’s sake, Dad,” Zoe muttered exasperated before taking the white shirt, he had been holding, from his hands, exchanging it for the light blue one he had on just moments earlier and pointing at the black dress pants he had discarded as too fancy right at the start. 

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” she rolled her eyes. “Not that it really matters what you wear, it’s a blind date after all.”

It turned out that she was very much right. Vincent seemed to have taken the idea of a blind date a bit too literal as far as Jack was concerned. It was pitch black inside Cafè Diem, they were not allowed to talk or make any kind of noise. Jack thought that that kinda defeated the whole dating premise and sounded quite a lot like the kind of really kinky party he had been forced to bust in his earlier years as a street cop in LA. 

Judging from the hushed breathy sounds coming from his vague right he certainly wasn’t the only one.   
“Jesus,” he muttered softly under his breath. It earned him a soft chuckle from the guy he had bumped into haphazardly within his first moments of entering the cafè and had sort of stuck by since. He had felt solid, warm, definitely muscular. He smelled incredibly nice and wore a dress shirt that felt similar to Jack’s own, no tie and the top two buttons undone. 

His laugh told Jack that he had a sense of humor that matched his and probably a very lovely, deep voice. Jack definitely wanted to know what it sounded like making other noises. 

He figured that maybe this whole dark thing was not Vincent’s worst idea after all. In a small town like this, dating openly for everyone to see, Jack had stuck with women. Being openly bisexual always seemed like a bad idea, especially since he was law enforcement. 

But here in the safety of the darkness it seemed like a very good idea to press just a little bit closer to the very male body next to him. The kiss that followed wasn’t unexpected, the facial hair was but Jack found he didn’t mind one bit. 

“Wanna get out of here?” it was whispered into his ear, going straight to his cock, making him press even closer and nod frantically. The voice seemed familiar, Jack thought, but he couldn’t quite place it. And he didn’t quite care enough to, as a hand grabbed his and dragged him through the maze of tables that was Cafè Diem. 

They slipped out the emergency exit into the parking lot and the relative brightness of the night sky assaulted his eyes for a moment, then he was already being pressed backwards into the brick wall of the building and lips crashed down on his again. The tongue that slid against his was equal parts pure teasing and wonderful promise. 

When the parted Jack was left gasping for breath, his forehead resting against the other man’s, eyes closed. The startled “Oh” drew him from his thoughts. He _did_ recognize that voice. 

“Oh,” he parroted helplessly, his startled eyes meeting Nathan Stark’s. “So…”

“So…?”

“You still wanna get out of here?” Jack asked. The reply he got was a smirk and another tuck on his hand.


	5. Flowers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning for canon character death mention and grief in this chapter

In the first few weeks and months there are always fresh flowers all but piled on the gravesite. There are wreaths with ribbons and bouquets, all in neat, tasteful colors. Most of them are white. It seems to be the universal color of death and Jack really hates it and yet he puts his own flowers down, they blend seamlessly in with the rest. 

As time goes on the flowers become fewer and fewer. Allison's are always there, freshly delivered every Tuesday by the florist. Always neat and white. Sometimes there are red roses, they are never delivered. Jack knows to give her space on those days, to take Kevin and Jenna for a long walk, to give her time to grieve. 

The first Christmas Jack helps Kevin put up a small tree on the grave. He insists that Nathan would have wanted one. Allison concedes and decorates it with tasteful lights and light silver baubles. 

By the time Jenna is old enough to want to bring her own flowers to the grave, everyone else has all but stopped, save for Allison’s weekly bouquet. Jenna picks yellows and purples and lilacs and bright oranges at the florists whenever Jack takes her. She has him stop at the side of the road when she sees a flower growing there that she likes. Her bundles are never uniform, the colors usually clash, but they are bright and happy and that makes them somehow that much better in Jack’s eyes. 

“Have you seen the daffodils she left last week?” Jack hears someone ask passing by him in town. “They are totally stolen from the Jefferson’s backyard.” “Oh, totally,” someone else responds. “I wonder how she got past their security system, I heard it’s state of the art.” And Jack can’t help the grin that spreads across his face or the swell of pride in his chest.


	6. Touch

The touch of skin against skin hurts, it burns and tingles as a million nerve endings fire. He doesn’t remember when the last time another person touched his naked skin was but it feels like a lifetime ago. 

Nathan knows he must have made a sound, a gasp of shock maybe, he isn’t sure. But suddenly there is more touch, more skin against his own, burning hot and bright. 

There are words being said to him and he can’t hear a single one over the ringing in his ears. The hand on his face gets removed and he desperately tries to follow it, pressing himself closer to the warm, solid person in front of him. He can’t quite make out who it is, everything seems blurry and hazy. His eyes are burning too, like they’re too dry or he’s standing inside a smoke-filled building. That would explain the heat. 

“Warm,” he manages to press past his lips. His mouth feels dry, his lips chapped. He gets a response but can’t quite make it out. There are too many words being said, his brain feels slow and sluggish, like it can’t quite catch up. 

“More touch, please?” he asks, his voice rough and scratchy. A moment later the hand on his face is back, it rests gently against his cheeks, a thumb softly caressing him. 

The touch makes it easier to focus, takes the edge off whatever fever is running through his body. It’s probably not a good thing. Nathan vaguely recalls an experiment, something about monkeys and aggressive behaviour. It seemed important. 

“There is… experiment with the monkeys,” he manages. 

“We know,” the soft voice that has been talking to him replies. It’s still so achingly familiar but he can’t place it. His memory seems too foggy, he can’t quite focus on the face in front of him. It’s a man, he knows that, he’s blond, he’s wearing beige clothing, he’s head to toe one similar color, nothing stands out, nothing for his eyes to focus on, except… except his bright blue eyes. Nathan blinks slowly as they come into focus sharper.

He knows those eyes. He can trust them, they mean safety. 

There is another voice suddenly. Nathan can't make out the words, they're too quick. He recognises it too but it doesn't give him the same feeling of safety as the first man does. He feels unsure about the second man. There is a third voice, a woman. Her voice has him on the edge instantly. 

“Hey. Hey, it's okay. Everything is okay,” the man with the bright blue eyes tells him and Nathan finds himself calming down. 

He nods as he's being carefully examined and explained that something happened with his experiment. Which yes thank you, he had figured out on his own. The fever is not a fever at all, it's his body shutting down, which is not good. Nathan rolls his eyes, because really? 

He feels like the explanations he is being relayed by Blue Eyes are severely lacking in details but as long as he can focus on him and touch him he is relatively fine. 

“So any questions so far?” The expression on his face says he knows he's been not entirely helpful.

“What's your name?”

“My name?”

“I know that I know you. I know that I trust you. But I can't for the life of me remember anyone's names?” Nathan explained. 

“Jack Carter, town Sheriff, nice to meet you or something.”

Nathan laughed.   
“We already know each other, Jack,” he pointed out. The name felt oddly unfamiliar on his tongue. Nathan felt disappointed at that, he had been so sure that his man was a close friend or something. Maybe there was some sort of nickname he had for him. 

Jack stayed with him for the next few hours as they poked and prodded him, his warm hand a constant reassurance against Nathan's overheating skin. 

It kept him calm and it kept his focus on Jack. 

“Yes, I'm aware of that, Carter,” the female voice broke through his thoughts. 

“Allison,” he murmured tiredly.

“Nathan?!” her voice cut sharply through the fog of his brain. She didn't quite come into focus like Jack did, like Carter did, he corrected himself. Sheriff, Carter, never Jack. And yet it was all that he had called the other man for the past few hours. That was bound to be odd for a while.

“Take your time, your body should be acclimating slowly.”

“Henry,” his brain was still slow to make connections, to form coherent thoughts.   
“I don't remember what happened.”

“Well, it all started with Fargo and a button he shouldn't have pressed,” Jack… Carter explained. 

“That sounds oddly familiar.”

“Doesn't it always?”

Nathan expects things to get awkward then, he expects Carter to bail as soon as he's given the all clear, most of all he expects the warm hand to be removed from his bare arm. But none of these things happen. Carter… Jack stays with him until he's released from the infirmary. His hand stays on Nathan's arm the entire time.


End file.
